(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for ensuring the sealing of a bottle containing sparkling wine and includes a plug, namely made of cork or of synthetic material, capable of being inserted into the neck of said bottle, maintained on the latter through a cork wiring, and through which passes, in axial direction, a duct including a first and a second end capable of communicating with the inner volume or the outer volume, respectively, of the bottle, said second end being closed by a retractable seal.
This invention will find its application in the field of the manufacture of devices for closing bottles containing sparkling wine.
(2) Description of Related Art
Plugs capable of being inserted into the neck of a bottle containing sparkling wine are already known.
The latter produces indeed pressurized gases likely to expulse said plug that, in order to avoid such an expulsion, is completed with a cork wiring capable of co-operating with said neck and aimed at maintaining said plug on the bottle.
Now, at the moment of opening such a bottle of sparkling wine and after having removed the cork wiring, it often happens that, due to this gas pressure, the plug cannot be held under control by the person who removes the plug.
In addition to the fact that such a plug, propelled at high speed, can cause material damage, it is also capable of injuring somebody, which is of course even more serious and therefore unacceptable.
In order to cope with this problem, there have already been devised devices allowing degassing a bottle prior to proceeding to opening it.
In particular, mechanically expandable plugs are known, which are therefore radially pressure-released before the cork wiring is removed, while creating a passageway allowing the gases to be released. As a matter of fact, such plugs are of a complex design and necessarily made of synthetic material, which undeniably limits their application.
German Patent 3901711 describes a sealing device for a bottle containing sparkling wine. Such a device is in the form of a plug through which passes a duct including an inner channel at the level of which is provided for a internal thread. The latter is capable of cooperating with the external thread of a threaded rod screwed into said duct. Such a device allows, through unscrewing said rod, the release of the gases contained in the bottle.
One should note that in such a device the rod as well as the duct are made of synthetic material. In this respect, one should note that it is particularly difficult to achieve an appropriate tightness between the external thread of the rod and the internal thread of the duct, this with a rod and a duct made of such synthetic material. Hence, one notices many leaks at the level of the cooperation between the external thread and the internal thread of this device, which is not acceptable for sparkling wine, in particular for high-quality wine.
This invention allows coping with the drawbacks of the sealing device known in the state of the art, and this through a new, particularly astute device.
To this end, the invention relates to a device for ensuring the sealing of a bottle containing sparkling wine and includes a plug, namely made of cork or of synthetic material, capable of being inserted into the neck of said bottle, maintained on the latter through a cork wiring, and through which passes, axially, a hole for receiving a duct including a first and a second end capable of communicating with the inner volume or the outer volume, respectively, of the bottle, said second end being closed by a retractable seal, characterized in that said hole has a cross-section tightly fitting the outer cross-section of said duct, the latter being provided, at the level of its second end, with a resting flange, on the one hand, capable of resting against the upper surface of said plug and, on the other hand, against which said seal defined by a lip is inserted.
According to an additional feature, the ratio between the cross-section of the duct and the cross-section of the hole in the plug varies between 1.05 and 1.36.
More specifically, the ratio between the cross-section of the duct and the cross-section of the hole in the plug is of about 1.15 and, preferably, the cross-section of said duct is of about 3 mm, while that of the hole is of about 2.6 mm.
Another feature of this invention relates to said duct, which is made of a food-type semi-rigid synthetic material, preferably PET.
According to an additional feature, the second end of said duct includes a portion protruding out of said plug and, through distortion, namely through a raise in temperature, defines the resting flange.
Another peculiarity of this invention is that said seal is defined by a lip inserted against the resting flange.
As a matter of fact, said lip is inserted against the flange through heat sealing.
According to an additional feature, the plug receives, at the level of its upper surface, a cap capable of cooperating with said cork wiring and provided with an opening aimed at providing access to the retractable seal.
As a matter of fact, the opening of said cap has a substantially circular shape and has a diameter varying between 8 and 12 mm, preferably equal to 10 mm, so as to allow seizing said cap, through magnetization, to place it on the plug.
Another feature is that said plug has an outer diameter and that the ratio between the outer diameter of the plug and the inner diameter of the neck varies between 1.52 and 1.7, this ratio being preferably equal to 1.64.
The advantages of this invention reside in that said device authorizes an evacuation of the gases contained in a bottle of sparkling wine, by proceeding to removing the retractable seal. This allows creating inside said bottle a pressure in the range of that of the atmospheric pressure, which impedes the plug from being expulsed when the cork wiring is removed.
As a matter of fact, one should note that the duct is inserted by force into the plug, before the latter is placed into the neck of the bottle. In this respect, one should note that said duct is made of semi-rigid material allowing, on the one hand, its insertion by force into the plug and, on the other hand, placing the latter in the neck, this without suffering damages despite the stresses exerted on the sealing device according to the invention during its manufacture and its putting in place.
This duct as well as, eventually, said plug are, as a matter of fact, defined so as to allow placing the sealing device according to the invention on the bottle by means of a corking machine of a traditional design usually used for ensuring the placing of traditional plugs, namely of massive cork. Thus, said sealing device according to the invention does not require designing a new corking machine, but advantageously allows using existing machines.
During the process of placing such a sealing device, one proceeds, after inserting the plug into the neck and before placing said cork wiring, to covering said plug with a cap, the handling of the latter occurring through magnetization. In this respect, one should observe that the size of the opening in this cap is so defined as to advantageously allow seizing, through magnetization, said cap by means of an appropriate organ an existing corking machine of a traditional design is provided with.
The presence of this opening at the level of said cap advantageously allows acceding to the lip of the retractable seal, in order to ensure its removal, while maintaining the cork wiring in place on the bottle.
This invention will be better understood when reading the following description, with reference to the attached drawing.